Alexander Zverev came up short in his first Wimbledon final appearance after losing in four sets to Jannik Sinner.
Sinner successfully completed his title defence at the All England Club after coming back from a set down to defeat Zverev, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 and secure his fifth major crown.
The German, who claimed a maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last month, was competitive with his eventual conqueror for most of the bout, but fell away in sets three and four, having lost his serve in both.
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Despite failing to snap his losing streak against Sinner, which has now increased to 10 matches, Zverev took a set off the Italian star for the first time in seven meetings.
After his defeat, the 29-year-old received high praise from former British player Tim Henman, who highlighted his drastic improvements over the past few months.
Tim Henman reacts to Alexander Zverev losing the Wimbledon final
Speaking on the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon, Henman said of Zverev: “I think he is one of the top three fittest and most durable athletes. He plays week in and week out.
“I also think what is so impressive is that it’s a significant change how he is playing on the court. He is playing more aggressively, stepping up and cutting down the angles on the forehand side and going for it.
“That is not easy to do when you are 29 years of age. For that next step up to beat Alcaraz or Sinner or win a major, he needed to make changes.
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“The way he accepted that, he has got the rewards of a Roland Garros title with his first Slam, but to see him play this well on grass, it changes the narrative a bit.
“I think he will [continue like this] because he accepts the consequences. What’s the worst that can happen? He misses the forehand. Big deal!
“Now he steps up and he is hitting some incredible forehand winners and he’s like okay I can do this. I think the more he continues to ingrain that good habit the better he is going to become.”
Jannik Sinner’s remarkable serving display in week two
After a shaky start to his Wimbledon campaign, the second half of Sinner’s title defence in SW19 has been remarkable.
In week two at the Championships, the world number one has earned wins over Jan-Lennard Struff, Novak Djokovic and Zverev while putting on dominant serving displays.
Sinner was broken just once in the second week of Wimbledon, which ranks highly all-time according to Opta Ace.
Since the data was collected in 1991, only Pete Sampras has been broken fewer times in the second week of a major.
He did not lose his serve at all towards the latter stages of his 2000 Wimbledon campaign.
Sinner’s sole loss of serve came against Struff in the quarterfinals,
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